There are many kinds of twinkling eyes. Kaito employes many of them as he tries to manipulate Aoko into figuring out his secret identity and, more importantly, to keep it secret. Honestly, it's more for his own entertainment... Slight KaiAo romance. Rated T to be safe.

The picture of the beach photo drew Aoko's attention to another photo in her room. There were no people in that one. Only a building with the windows lit in a pattern and fireworks behind it. Her birthday surprise from Kaito. A sapphire, the "Blue Birthday," was stolen and retrieved that night. Kaitou KID had stolen it. He also, unknowingly to Aoko, met with Snake for the first time and promised to stop the organization from realizing their goal.

Now that she knew why Kaito had not made it to her birthday party, she wasn't sure how she felt about his gift.

As KID, he ruined Kaito's promise. While simultaneously revealing that Aoko was important to Kaito.

Frustrated, Aoko slumped onto her desk, burying her head into her arms. How was a girl supposed to decide? She still liked Kaito. Apparently, finding out that he was the infamous thief that made her dad look bad was not enough to destroy ten years of loving him. Could she live with that knowledge; knowing he was breaking the law? More importantly, could she deal with her best friend being the one that destroyed all her morals? Surely loving someone who defies all one's personal morals was the same as going against them yourself.

Love. Was it really love? Aoko tried to bury her head into the wood. She couldn't lie to herself. Of course it was. Different, obviously, than for her parents, and different from her friends. But, rather, it was a unique love.

She groaned. The answer was staring her in the face. Her phone was in her hand before she could change her mind.

"Kaito, I'm coming over. We need to talk."

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She ran the whole way, not allowing herself to chicken out. Her breathing was heavy as she rang the doorbell. The door swung open and Chikage welcomed her in.

"Aoko-chan. Thank you for talking to him in person." And without further explaination, Chikage left the house, giving the teens the privacy they needed.

"Kaito?" Aoko walked into the living room to find him standing in front of his father's portrait.

"Aoko." He sounded worse than Aoko. "What have you decided?"

Sitting, Aoko patted the seat beside her. Slowly, like he was weighed down with lead, Kaito moved and sat.

"Kaito." She took a deep breath as if preparing to dive. "I love you."

Shock like electricity ran up Kaito's spine.

"I never thought I would confess this, but it is the truth. I love you, unconditionally. I don't know what this says about me." She plucked at the hem of her sweater. "Liking an infamous thief. A menace to my own father… But you told me why you steal. It's not to make a fool of my father. I might not like it, but I do still… you know."

She couldn't say the L-word again.

"I won't stop you. But I'm not going to praise you either." Her eyes were disapproving as if he would ever asked her to praise his thefts. "I'm still going to worry about my father, and more so now because you can get killed. However, now I can help find out more on this organization."

Kaito opened his mouth to complain.

"No, don't try to stop me. I'll only keep it to public records. Newspaper clips, general info, that kind of stuff. But if you're going to do dangerous stuff, then I need something I can focus on too."

Not knowing if he was allowed to speak, Kaito just nodded mutely. He watched as Aoko took a deep calming breath.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Aoko asked him timidly.

"I'm sorry." Kaito looked at his hands; they were shaking. "I shouldn't have… I won't lie to you again, Aoko."

"Kaito, you don't have to go that far." Aoko placed her hand atop his, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"Aoko, I love you too. I love your height, I love how you fit beside me when we're crammed in the train, I love the feeling of your hair, your smile and your laugh. I love your anger and your sincerity. Your brains and your wit." He turned and looked at her, shifting his hands he held hers lightly. "I love you, Nakamori Aoko. And I am sorry for causing you pain."

"Yes, if you'll be my Ahoko." Kaito's eyes twinkled with love as Aoko nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.

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Kaito never knew how he was so lucky to have found Aoko, the girl who loved him for everything that he was. He knew how much he loved Aoko, but wasn't sure how much she loved him. On the other hand, Aoko knew just how much Kaito loved her. She could read everything in his twinkling eyes.

The End.

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Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed reading this! Writing these shorter chapters was interesting and new for me.

The names "Bakaito" and "Ahoko" are the nicknames they use on each other when they're insulting each other. It's a play off of "baka" and "aho" with their names. I don't feel like explaining their romance. They're bound towards some issues.

Also, clearly, OOC'ness is expected. There is no WAY Kaito would tell Aoko that he was KID. But it's a STORY, right? I'm allowed to write up fake scenarios.

Thoughts? Reviews make me motivated to write! And suggestions, critiques, whatever will be much appreciated and can help me improve my writing! Thanks for reading!

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